Recent News
It wouldn’t be the holidays without flipping on your TV and seeing the charmingly animated misfits of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” warming the television landscape. So when Bent Image Lab got the call from the folks at Bing to produce some “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” themed spots showcasing the video, travel and local search talents of the Bing search engine, they rolled up their sleeves and went right to work. Directed by Ken Lidster, these four spots follow Bumble, Hermey, Rudolph and several other familiar faces on their quests for Internet information. Co-writing the project with Bing, Bent Image Lab’s long relationship with these famous characters of yesteryear made these spots a treat to produce.
Now you can get a dog treat that will keep your mutt chewing and drooling for at least two hours! “Check Out My Chompers”, the latest spot from Bent Image lab and agency Engauge, promotes Gnawin’ Forever a long-lasting dog snack that encourages your pooch to gnaw with their front teeth instead of their back, resulting in a longer chomp time.
Bent teamed up with agency Saatchi & Saatchi and used its repertoire of specialties: stop motion, CG and live action to create Buckley’s “Duckley’s”. Bent Image Lab’s latest ad for Complete Liquid Gels showcases Buckley’s ability to knock out the worst cold and flu symptoms via the shooting gallery analogy.
The enchantment of the holidays comes alive in Bent Image Lab’s mixed media spot for Raley’s. From creative agency Ivie & Associates and production companies Saxon Productions and Bent Image Lab “Tis the Season” is about the spirit of the holidays, the excitement of a good idea and the people who brought it all together.
“Jingle All the Way” gets a great review from the New York Times and Bent Image Lab is mentioned.
Here’s a shout out to some of our Bent staff who moonlit on a project for Wild Flag. The music video is getting a nod and a grin from such publications as Rolling Stone and NPR. A throw back to the days of the Bad News Bears, Wild Flag’s “Electric Band” video features the group playing ball against some “real” bears. It’s just too good to pass up…check it out:
Portland filmmaker Chel White has been churning out shorts, music videos and more since 1985, so his first feature, “Bucksville,” would be entitled to the closing slot at the 38th Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival on pedigree alone. Fortunately, it also happens to be an ambitious, handsomely mounted and suspenseful experience in its own right.
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From the Klein Independent School District Press Release – It is a tale of two huskies, one real and the other fiction. As luck would have it, the real story rests at Metzler Elementary nestled in the heart of the Klein ISD.
The Hallmark storybook Jingle All the Way is written by author Tom Shay-Zapien and tells the story of homeless husky pup, Jingle, and a little boy who needed a friend. Jingle followed the kids to school every day in hopes that one of them would take him home. Coincidentally, the tale mimics that of a husky found at Metzler named Roxee.
Koodo won Silver on Nov. 3rd at Canada’s ADCCs for Advertising Integrated Campaign!
Chel White’s “Bucksville” is making the film festival rounds and is receiving rave reviews. The Oregonian’s Shawn Levy says ” ‘Bucksville’ is the long-awaited full-length debut of award-winning shorts/commercials/music video director Chel White of Portland, and it’s a handsome and poised work, bringing a touch of David Lynch to the story of a young man in a small town trying to break out of a secret vigilante mob to which his family belongs.”
Bent Image Lab, the animation studio behind many successful commercials, music videos, shorts, and visual effects projects is now co-producing long format content for television. “Jingle All the Way”, a stop motion animated show for Hallmark Channel is Bent’s first endeavor into long form animation. Airing November 25th as part of Hallmark Channel’s “Countdown to Christmas”, “Jingle All the Way” is based off of an original storybook from Hallmark. The show was directed by Bent partner Chel White, produced by Bent’s Executive Producer Tsui Ling Toomer and executively produced by Bent Partner Ray Di Carlo and Hallmark’s Jodi Schade, Diana Stuart, Chad Harris, and Shawn McClaren.
Filming in the Land of Gus Van Sant
Portlandia, Grimm and Leverage are the latest Hollywood productions to set up shot in cloudy but cool Portland, Ore. By Tim Appelo
The latest Oregon Lottery spot, “Turkeyzilla” has stomped his way into the hearts of Oregonians everywhere. Announcing the annual Oregon Lottery Thanksgiving Raffle, Bent Image Lab’s latest collaboration with Borders, Perrin, Norrander features a Godzilla inspired, money-made turkey clomping through the streets of downtown Portland. The spot is a throw back to the Sci-Fi monster films of the 50’s and employs the ancient art forms of marionette and Bunraku puppetry to bring the monster to life.
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Stefan Nadelman recently provided roughly 30 minutes of animation for the award-winning feature documentary “Connected” by Tiffany Shlain. Nadelman’s goal was to create a visual style that would blend seamlessly with the stock and verité footage counterparts used in the film. Nadelman says “In doing this, I tried to vary my animation techniques as if they came from different hands while coming from the same school. The addition of grain and vignettes, the repeated use of animations, and the consistency of typefaces helped to create the film’s cohesive visual language.”
If you happen to be in New York or Denver check it out!
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El Tabador, the short, dark and handsome savior of cell phone customers, has returned to spread the message of Koodo Mobile to the masses of Canada. Bent Image Lab and TAXI 2 have once again brought the mischievous Mexican wrestler to life with two new adventures that spread the word of Koodo’s superior cell phone services. Both spots came from the creative minds of TAXI 2’s Tal Wagman (Copywriter) and Craig Ferguson (Art Director) and co-directed by Bent Image Lab’s Rob Shaw and Solomon Burbridge.
Bent Image Lab recently cemented Visual FX Artist Jalal Jemison as its new head of compositing and lead colorist. Jemison whose previous work includes numerous Hollywood projects such as “Pineapple Express”, “Borat” and most currently “Get Him to the Greek” and the documentary “How to Die in Oregon” brings his mastery of post production tools and techniques to the world of commercials, television programs, music videos and motion graphics.
Bent Image Lab’s David Daniels just returned from Anima Mundi 2011 – the huge international animation festival in Brazil where he was a featured special guest, invited to teach classes in his unique animation inventions and to be honored with a retrospective of his career work.
Bent’s Carlos Lascano recently finished an emotionally powerful video for Amnesty International’s 50th Anniversary entitled Standing Up for Freedom. Produced in Prague, Lascano and team created a visual masterpiece utilizing multiple forms of animation and technical methods to achieve a metaphorical story of freedom over oppression. The video tells the story of a morbid, brick wall blocking all access to sunlight and freedom while animated characters play out war-torn scenes across its dark, barren surface. A red carnation, inspired by the Portugal’s Carnation Revolution in the 1970’s, is passed from the heroes of each scene to the next. The moving score was produced by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe.
Portland, Oregon’s creative power house Bent Image Lab recently welcomed award-winning Director and Animator Stefan Nadelman into their fold. Nadelman whose recent animation work includes commercials for Nike Red Write the Future, The Ghetto Film School, the documentary American Teacher and the film Connected: A Declaration of Interdependence brings to Bent his imaginative style in motion graphics, music videos and animation.
Join Bent Image Lab’s David Daniels as he teaches the finer art of his invention, Strata Cut animation, at the Anima Mundi International Animation Festival! David’s master class will be held in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, July 20th and Sao Paulo on Thursday, July 28th where he will discuss the mind bending world of Strata Cut. David will also participate in the festivals’ “Animated Chat” on Thursday, July 21st in Rio and again on Friday, July 29th in Sao Paulo where his innovative body of work from over the last 20 years will be showcased. If you are heading to Anima Mundi in Rio or Sao Paolo check out the class and the chat!
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Bent Image Lab has teamed up with agency Borders, Perrin, Norrander to create an emotionally uplifting and visually dynamic 30 second TV spot Plywood for the Oregon Lottery. This project focuses on the important impact lottery dollars can have on the delicate economy of a small town.
What’s Wrong With Virginia, the new film written/directed by Dustin Lance Black and with titles and Special FX by Bent Image Lab, was highlighted in an article in The New York Times about the tradition of personal and emotional films premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Dustin Black’s “…Virginia” stars Ed Harris and Jennifer Connelly. It’s opening titles and Special FX/Composting was done right here at BENT Image Lab. Dustin Lance Black previously won an oscar for his writing on Gus Van Sant’s, “Milk.” Read the full post
When Matt Briggs came to Bent for support on his environmental documentary “Deep Green,” Bent’s Executive Producer Ray Di Carlo didn’t hesitate to get behind his cause.
And Now, both the full length documentary and one of Bent’s animated shorts produced in concord with the film have won great honors at the 7th annual Artivist Film Festival.
Check it! Bent’s newest episode in the ad campaign for Tetra Pak has been released! Tetra Pak is a company producing drink cartons using renewable resources and sustainable harvesting practices. Join Bob the Rabbit as he gives a tour of Tetra Pak’s resource acquisition location to a pack of environmentally minded mammals (No, they’re not human).
The official music video for Modest Mouse’s, “The Whale Song,” has had over 370 thousand views on the two sites combined. We want more! Produced right here on Bent’s stage by the amazing artists who inhabit our studio every day, “Whale Song” is a testament to imaginative filmmaking and the incredible ambition to create lasting imagery. Utilizing a myriad of techniques, the music video marries live action footage of Isaac Brock with stop-motion animation, CG, motion graphics, high-speed footage and more. Check it out for the first time, or the third. You’re sure to see something you missed the first time.
Strategy Magazine has named five brands for the honor of “Brand of the Year.” Koodo’s “El Tabador” campaign, produced by Bent Image Lab in conjunction with Taxi 2, was named as one of these five winning brands. Watch the Campaign and Read the article Here.
Studio Daily recently interviewed Rob Shaw to ask about Bent’s new spots for the canadian cell phone company Koodo, what it’s like to work with a 4-inch tall wrestler, and what projects are in Rob Shaw’s future.
